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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/28451682">A Fine Jest</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ashthevalkyrie/pseuds/Ashthevalkyrie'>Ashthevalkyrie</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Heartless - Marissa Meyer</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Attempted in Marissa Meyer's style, Short, but not close enough, cuz partially my style</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-12-31</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-01-29</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-18 03:54:51</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Not Rated</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,201</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/28451682</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ashthevalkyrie/pseuds/Ashthevalkyrie</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>A series of short, short chapters in Hatta's shop. Not romantic, but sweet, I think. Contains spoilers. And hats.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Jest/Catherine Pinkerton (Heartless), Jest/Hatta (Heartless)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>13</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>13</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Day of Catherine and Jest's First Meeting</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Elegance.</p><p>That was the only way to describe him.</p><p>It was written in the smooth lines of his black suit, the fine way he spoke, the soft mannerisms: Jest was a creature made of elegance and shadows.</p><p>Hatta himself had attempted to recreate this elegance in a hundred different hats, each result producing nothing but disappointment and an ever-growing pile of wasted material. Some seemed to be too gaudy and others too understated, but the problem, Hatta thought, wasn't something he could so easily pin down. If he were to guess at the problem, it was that no hat could replace such a man.</p><p>Jest now fingered one such hat, leaning carelessly on his precious tea-table. Not that it mattered. The Rook was more precious than all Hatta's time.<br/>
"A fine creation," he said. His amber-yellow eyes drifted over the stitching Hatta had worked on for hours the day before.</p><p>The Pawn laughed. "Those are my failures, love." He thought to say something clever, but his tongue failed him, so he added a pitiful, "There are plenty more beautiful hats to choose from."</p><p>Jest set down the hat woven from shadows and impossibilities with the utmost care. The silver bells jingled softly, the only light in the unopened shop. "On the contrary, Hatta. This one must be your finest work. I, for one, quite like it." He held it up to examine more carefully."Raven, what do you think? Is it the finest hat on both sides of the Looking Glass?"</p><p>A clawed talon alighted on Hatta's shoulder, digging into his skin. Raven pecked at the Hatter's half-smile, then considered the jester's hat. He remembered the time he had spent on it, the hours sewing together impossibilities and charisma and mystery- not that the Rook needed it. There could not have been a more charismatic or mysterious or impossible being hiding in any rabbit hole.</p><p>"A jester's hat, with bells like jewels," Raven said. "A silly thing for only fools."</p><p>Jest laughed again and swatted at the executioner, who cawed back and flapped his wings against Hatta's face. "I suppose we'll have to disagree on that." He sighed. "It is quite a fine hat." The amber-eyed Rook shrugged it off as if it were inconsequential- which, compared to Jest's... well, impossibility, it was- and his smile faded. He glanced at the door to check if anyone was coming, then said, "Hatta, we begin our mission tonight."</p><p>He had been wondering when Jest would bring that up. The Pawn set aside his tea. "You know who this queen is?"</p><p>"I must," Jest sighed. His thin form was tense, as if he was waiting for an enemy to spring through the door. "Hatta..." He stood hastily. Even that stiff movement seemed languid and graceful. "Hatta, surely this girl- if Time truly is playing tricks on us- must have thousands of suitors. How could I ever steal her heart?"</p><p>"It seems impossible," he agreed. Raven cawed angrily at him and settled on the table. "But," the Hatter said. His eyes trailed from Jest to the heap of hats, to the fool's motley, and back to Jest. "Impossible is your specialty." </p><p>"I cannot," Jest whispered. "If I were her, I would not choose me."</p><p>I would choose you, Hatta thought.</p><p>"Love, you don't know that. You will suceed."</p><p>"There is no certainty!" Jest cried, and Hatta knew he'd found the truth. "The weight of the world- our world- is on us! This is our only chance! How could I fail my friends, my family, my home... but how could I NOT fail them!"</p><p>The anxious energy in his friend's eyes did not lessen. The other Rook gave him a beady-eyed look that suggested he would be subject to nonsensical rhymes until Time found him if he didn't help. Hatta didn't need the incentive. The single other time Jest had allowed his fears to see the light of day, he was dashing into Hatta's chambers the night after his first kill. He could barely talk to him, and it was as if he'd folded into himself then, becoming only a shadow. That had been the single most terrifying moment of his life.</p><p>Too much. This was too much for elegant, shadowy Jest to shoulder alone.</p><p>"Sweetheart, if this was for you alone to accomplish, our Queen would only have sent you." Hatta dared to touch Jest's arm. He stilled. "I am but a Pawn, and Raven is but a Rook, but we will be by your side. We will complete our mission."</p><p>Jest shook his head. He was tense beneath his fingertips. Scared, but not for himself.</p><p>"One step at a time," he whispered. "Tonight, you will go to the ball and be..." The Hatter guided his friend in slow, patient steps across the room. His muscles began to relax.</p><p>"The most mysterious..."</p><p>Jest's laugh only shook slightly. He looked at Hatta with those stunning amber-yellow eyes, and for a second he forgot how to breathe.</p><p>"The most charismatic..."</p><p>Raven dropped a hat in his hands with a cheery jingle. The Pawn smiled again and, growing bold, slipped his hand into Jest's. He started, but Hatta was tugging him onward, to the back of his strange hattery and the mirror that covered the expanse of it.</p><p>"And the most impossible Joker that Hearts has ever seen." </p><p>Hatta stepped aside and revealed to Jest his reflection. His hand felt cold without him. Jest's lips parted in a silent 'o' and his eyes widened at his reflection. He stretched his hand out and traced his face. Hatta tilted his head, examining Jest from head to toe. Then he tossed the joker's hat and it landed crookedly on the Rook's head.</p><p>He looked beautiful.</p><p>He looked impossible.</p><p>Hatta couldn't help the lump in his throat, the twinge in his heart. He gestured to the mirror. "Do you think he can do it?" Then he faced Jest, the uncertainty still wavering on his face. "Do you think you can do it?"</p><p>His hats were magic, yes. He could make magic dance for him, could manipulate people like a puppeteer, but there was only so much magic could accomplish. Magic built on the affected person, changed them, but some things had to be done without magic. Magic would not make Jest believe in himself. Magic would not steal a Queen's heart.</p><p>But Hatta sometimes wished it were that easy to take a Fool's.</p><p>Those thoughts were stolen away as Jest looked him in the eyes. His shoulders squared in determination and a smile touched his lips. "For our home," he said, and bowed grandly.</p><p>The bittersweet taste left on his tongue was both unexpected and strangely familiar. Hatta decided that Jest, who could make him feel all sorts or incomprehensible emotions, was more than likely the key to this mystery too. </p><p>"I'm glad, darling."</p><p>The Joker winked at him- oh, did he really have to play the part of a rake now?- and he disguised his flustered self with exasperation. He had a lot of practice with disguising himself and running, it seemed.</p><p>The Pawn sighed and shook his head.</p><p>"Just try not to lose your head, love."</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Night of the Treacle Well</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Okay! Second try!<br/>I should be writing for my wattpad account, but I'm procrastinating, and I love Heartless and Jest's character, so I've got to try it again!</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>"I've arrived with this lovesick fool, now open this door up, will you?"</p>
<p>Hatta threw open the door, prepared for Raven to serenade him with endless poetry. Instead he found one half-conscious Rook and one furious one. Jest leaned on the frame, his eyelids drooping. He tried for what might have been a smile if he weren't seconds from falling asleep. "Good evening, Hatta." Jest swept the hat off his head and bowed. "My apologies for disturbing you, but- ah!"</p>
<p>Raven pecked at his side, and he broke off with a pained sound. It could have been anything from broken ribs to simple overexertion, the Pawn knew, and fear wormed its way into his brain.</p>
<p>Silk and scissors, what was he doing? Jest had come to <em>him </em>for help, and he was just standing there.</p>
<p>"Are you mad at me?" Jest asked. He was genuinely upset. Preposterous, Hatta knew. He could be exasperated, frustrated, irritated, but surely he could never be mad at Jest. Mad was saved solely for Time. "I apologize, but I still cannot say I agree with your views. A lady Cath may be, but she has a heart of gold. I cannot take it from her."</p>
<p>Lady Catherine Pinkerton. A woman with a sharp tongue, wild dreams, a constant source of ire, and a rather uncanny baking ability. As skilled as she was fickle, and as oblivious as Jest. A perfect match, loath as he was to admit it.</p>
<p>Jest was still apologizing, stumbling over his words in anxious bursts."I had no idea where to go. Escaping the king's men was easy, but they're rather stubborn." The Rook wobbled when he glanced over his shoulder. "I apologize for bringing trouble to your door-"</p>
<p>"Jest," Hatta interrupted. The Rook broke off, peering at him with tired, amber eyes. "If Time himself was at your back, I would still let you in." He slipped an arm around his friend, who laughed and rewarded him with a smile.</p>
<p>"Oh- thank you, Hatta- ouch!"</p>
<p>"To be more careful, I do implore," Raven cawed. In a flurry of feathers, he settled himself on Hatta's head. "A Jabberwock, you are no match for."</p>
<p>"You have no faith," Jest murmured.</p>
<p>"Faith has nothing to do with truth, for you failed to win when it fought you."</p>
<p>"Perhaps it will succumb to its wounds?"</p>
<p>"Nevermore."</p>
<p>Hatta kicked the door closed behind him and swept the ribbons and ruffles and precious stones off his table. The crash of china was accompanied by a sting in his scalp where Raven's talons were. Perhaps he should have checked the table first- oh, but Jest was priceless. Those teacups were replaceable.</p>
<p>"Lay down, love."</p>
<p>Jest complied. He tugged off his shirt, letting him examine the splotchy bruise on his stomach. Hatta didn't even feel his face flame. They'd seen every inch of each other- modesty wouldn't save someone when they were bleeding out, after all. Checking under bruises for cracked bones was routine, practically second nature.</p>
<p>Hatta raised an eyebrow at Raven. "Darling, you said something about a Jabberwock?"</p>
<p>In a single, stretching moment, the Rook became a giant of a man. His axe gleamed darkly. "Tail," he said, gesturing with the axe at Jest's stomach. "Nothing was broken?"</p>
<p>"Nothing," Hatta agreed. He prodded Jest's bare shoulder. "Jest?"</p>
<p>A puff of warm breath, and the Rook's half lidded eyes slipped shut. He turned on one side, his dark hair spilling out under him like a halo. He flinched as the bruise pulled taunt.</p>
<p>Hatta suddenly found himself enraged. He'd known Catherine was going to the theatre, known where the Jabberwock came from. Surely he could've realized the theatre was a target, that Catherine- as the maker of the pumpkin pie- was a target. As long as Catherine was in danger, Jest would be as brave and impossible as always and save her. She used him as easily as she strung him along, and while he couldn't do anything about it-</p>
<p>"Peace," Raven murmured. He took the Pawn's hands in his own giant ones and uncurled his stiff fingers. Five crescents marked his dominant hand. The formless face looked up at him with a silent question.</p>
<p>Hatta shook his head. No, he would not do anything about it. He was only a Pawn, and Pawns were to follow their orders. He was to save Chess and protect Jest, and doing anything to the lady would disobey both. Even if it was her fault.</p>
<p>And yet... it had been him who planted those seeds in Peter's yard. It had been him who brought them over. By extension, the Jabberwock was his fault.</p>
<p>Guilt washed over him, flushing his face red.</p>
<p>Raven's hand pressed into his shoulder. Silent. Supporting.</p>
<p>Hatta shook himself out of his thoughts and returned to the present. "Would you prefer a bed, or a perch?" he asked.</p>
<p>Another moment, and he was a raven. He cawed angrily and soared into the back room, out of sight. "Nevermore!" he huffed.</p>
<p>Hatta smirked and lifted Jest carefully off the table. His head lolled against his chest. The Pawn sighed and shook his head, firmly ignoring the flush on his face. Jest was light- he was all but a shadow- but it didn't worry him too much. What <em>did </em>was the Jabberwock. Hatta had a bad feeling about it...</p>
<p>He set Jest down on a bed dusted with stray hats. On closer inspection, they were the failures. The ones before Jest decided on the hat with silver bells. "Rest well, and live to fight another day," he said, as was customary in Chess.

Jest exhaled softly and mumbled something that sounded like, "Cath..."</p>
<p>His heart twisted in on itself. Hatta turned away and slumped down in a chair, sensing Raven become the Executioner once more.</p>
<p>"You will be protected," he rumbled.</p>
<p>Suddenly exhaused, he managed a tired smile. The shadows under the hood grinned back. "Thank you," the Pawn said honestly. "For... everything."</p>
<p>The Executioner didn't look back. "Tell that to Jest."</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>I guess this is in my own style. I'm just testing different ways of doing this, because how you write a character and how you make them alive makes all the difference, or something. </p>
<p>Please feel free to suggest anything!!!</p>
        </blockquote><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Thank you for reading!</p><p>I'm honestly trying, I know it's short, but I'll be working on more of them. Consider this my... warmup?  I don't know, but whenever i have an urge to write more Heartless stuff, I will. The fandom's pretty small, sadly, but the book was incredible!!! I'll do my best to pay homaege to Marissa Meyers!</p><p>Maybe consider leaving comments??? they honestly make my day</p></blockquote></div></div>
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